MX23RW : Friday, November 8 16:02:44| >> :60:273:273:

Chelsea 4-1 Napoli

Chelsea 4-1 Napoli
© PA Photos
Branislav Ivanovic's extra-time goal puts Chelsea through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League at the expense of Napoli.

Branislav Ivanovic's extra-time goal has earned Chelsea a place in the Champions League quarter-finals at the expense of Napoli.

A 4-1 win on the night was enough for the Blues to progress 5-4 on aggregate against the Italians.

The visitors threatened from the first whistle as Ezequiel Lavezzi and Marek Hamsik both had shots saved by Petr Cech. The hosts came close again during the opening exchanges when Edinson Cavani's shot found the sidenetting.

Despite being unable to carve out many meaningful openings, Chelsea went ahead after 29 minutes when Didier Drogba headed in Ramires's low cross.

Napoli could have drawn themselves level at half time, but Cavani could only drag his shot wide of the goal.

Chelsea doubled their lead just two minutes after the break when John Terry rose above the opposition defence to nod in from Frank Lampard's corner.

However, the Stamford Bridge crowd was hushed just before the hour as Gokhan Inler lashed in a half-volley to give the Italians a vital away goal.

As the home side pushed for the goal that would at least take the match into extra time, they were awarded a penalty on 75 minutes when Andrea Dossena handled in the area. Lampard made no mistake from 12 yards as he smashed the ball past the goalkeeper.

As both sides surged forward looking for a winner, Chelsea could have had a penalty in the final minute when Drogba appeared to be held by his marker. However, the official behind the goal failed to give the decision.

As the game went into extra time, Chelsea made the decisive breakthrough in the 105th minute as Ivanovic found space in the area before he fired into the roof of the net.

ID:19987: cacheID:19987:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:3615:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
John Terry
Read Next:
Terry issues Champions League warning
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
FT
Bengals
34-35
Ravens
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool108111961325
2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Fulham104331413115
10Bournemouth104331312115
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
12Brentford104151920-113
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!